A little bit of neck pain can make your entire day more difficult. It’s hard to accomplish any tasks or even sit down and take a break when your neck is hurting. The good news is that neck pain is usually minor and nothing to worry about. Minor neck pain can often be treated with over-the-counter pain medication and some simple rest.
Cases of severe and long-lasting neck pain, though, will require more for treatment. This kind of neck pain may be the symptoms of a serious condition, such as:
- Whiplash
- Arthritis
- Slipped disc
- Meningitis
- Osteoporosis
These conditions are very painful and debilitating. Without treatment, they can grow worse and lead to permanent disability. Many people with neck pain turn to physical therapists for treatment.
Physical therapists are medical professionals who specialize in treating physical conditions. Our team at Panther Physical Therapy can help people with neck pain reduce their pain and improve their mobility.
Before you need neck pain treatment, though, you should do your best to prevent it from happening. Serious cases like whiplash or osteoporosis may be unavoidable, but minor neck pain from muscle strain is more preventable.
Tips for preventing neck pain
- Improve your posture — Sitting or standing with poor posture puts a lot of pressure on your spine, which can hurt your neck. When you hunch over, you increase the amount of pressure on your neck muscles for every inch your head is hunched forward. After a while, this can cause strains in the muscles and ligaments in your neck.
Make sure you sit and stand with your back straight and your chin up. This helps keep your spine straight and reduce pressure off your muscles. - Keep your screens level — When texting on your phone or working with a laptop, keep the screens at eye level. Constantly looking down to type and text puts strain on your neck muscles that can lead to neck pain.
- Exercise — Regular exercise can help keep your back and neck muscles strong and flexible. This helps provide more support for your back and neck, which can help reduce and prevent neck pain.
- Improve your diet — The muscles in your neck need nutrients from food. It’s important for you to maintain a diet rich in lean proteins, whole grains, dairy products and fruits and vegetables. These foods contain nutrients that the muscles in your body (including your neck) will love.
Contact Panther Physical Therapy for neck pain treatment
No matter how hard you try to prevent neck pain from happening, sometimes it still occurs. Whether from long-building strain or a traumatic injury, you’ll find that physical therapy can help you with your neck pain.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial consultation.
Tags: Arthritis, back pain, Meningitis, Neck Pain, Osteoporosis, Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy